Musicians need to pay attention to a number of things, whether it is when they are practicing or even when they are performing live. They are also bound to come up against a number of hindrances to their performance and playing ability. Yoga is known to not only help alleviate these problems but also elevate a musician’s playing ability as a whole, whether they are taking up Indian vocal lessons or learning to master a specific instrument. We at Notes n’ Beats have put together a brief guide on the kind of benefits that practicing yoga can bring for musicians of all levels.
How Can Musicians Benefit from Yoga?
Triggers Your Creativity
One of the major benefits of practicing yoga for musicians is that it does wonders for getting your creative juices flowing. Much like writers, it is certainly not uncommon for musicians to face a creative block when they are trying to come up with something new or unique. This can happen due to a number of reasons, the biggest of which is simply the fact that there is far too much weighing on their mind. Yoga is a fantastic way to unwind and clear your mind, giving you more peace to be able to focus on your music and be more explorative. People in a range of creative fields other than music choose to practice yoga whenever they feel stuck mentally or simply cannot trigger than imagination.
Improving Posture
A problem that is less talked about than others by musicians is that of posture. Due to their playing style or simply due to the instrument that they play, many musicians often struggle with their posture. Practicing and performing with your instrument for hours while maintaining a poor posture can lead to serious long-term problems for your physical health. Whether it be spinal injuries, joint aches, or even tension in the muscles, not keeping a proper playing posture could have some real consequences. Practicing yoga on a regular basis can work miracles with regard to your posture, helping you avoid some problems in the future. This will also carry over to your posture while playing, preventing any hunching or joint injuries.
Helps Live Performance
Yoga can bring a variety of benefits to a musician’s performance, both from a mental as well as a physical standpoint. In terms of mental benefits, practicing yoga can actually help a lot in alleviating any anxiety with regard to public performance. It is very common for musicians to feel a little nervous or anxious about an upcoming performance of theirs. Yoga is world-renowned for its ability to help reduce stress, and it will be a great tool for those who struggle with performance anxiety.
As for the physical benefits of practicing yoga for a musical performance, it helps a lot in helping you feel refreshed. Many musical performances will require the musicians to be energetic and more “performative”, and regular practice of yoga can do a lot to give you that boost.
Boosts Vocal Performance
Breathing and breath control are fundamental aspects of both practicing yoga as well as vocal performance. The better you can control your breathing, the better your singing will sound and feel. Yoga introduces a wide range of breathing techniques, all of which are bound to help your breath control and your overall singing ability. For instance, the ‘Pranayama’ breathing technique includes practicing nostril breathing, humming, and much more. It is a great way for singers to have more efficient and easy breathing while they are performing or, in fact, doing anything that might be more strenuous on the breathing. It will help improve your vocal tone, and stability of your pitch, and will also help in making you a lot more comfortable when you perform live.
Maintaining Focus
As mentioned earlier in the above points, yoga helps a lot to trigger your creativity and also relieves any performance anxiety. But it also has another major mental benefit that can help musicians both in their practice as well as their live performances. As well as your creativity, the stress, and noise of everyday life can also hinder your focus and concentration when you want to practice or perform. Practicing yoga and its many breathing exercises will help you clear your mind and focus solely on the music and your playing. This will help reduce any mistakes and also make your practice sessions more efficient and you can make more progress, regardless of whether you are taking up online guitar lessons or drum classes.
Regardless of whether you play an instrument or you are a vocalist, practicing yoga can really open up both your mental and physical capacities, which can only benefit your musical ability. At the Notes n’ Beats music academy, we offer a range of classes, as well as a summer camp for budding musicians if you are on the lookout for music camps near me.